Virginia Anti-SLAPP Bill is Good for Free Speech But Can Still Be Made Stronger

The Virginia legislature is on the verge of a big step forward for free expression. In the coming days, legislators will have the opportunity to pass a bill that would push back against harassing lawsuits called SLAPPs, or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.

SLAPPs are lawsuits that are filed to bully or bankrupt activists, protesters, journalists, bloggers, or even online reviewers. The point of a SLAPP isn’t to resolve a legitimate legal dispute—instead, it seeks to leverage the financial and psychological pain of litigation against someone who has spoken out, and silence or diminish that person’s speech. Unfortunately, SLAPPs have been on the rise. And states without strong anti-SLAPP laws—like Virginia—are becoming a magnet for these types of lawsuits.

H.B. 759 will make it easier for SLAPP defendants to get legal counsel. That’s because if a judge deems a case a SLAPP, the plaintiff will be required to pay the defendant’s attorney fees. Ideally, that results in defense lawyers who will represent SLAPP defendants on contingency even in situations where the person sued doesn’t have a lot of money to pay up front.

The bill also protects a wider range of speakers to defend themselves in court. H.B. 759 allows anyone speaking about a “matter of public concern” to use the anti-SLAPP law to defend themselves, and it has a fairly broad definition of public concern. 

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